53. Tom’s brother was also a very good man, wasn’t he?
He drank with Mr. Lee until he almost died that day.
I don’t know how an old man can have so much stamina, but he was still up at dawn.
We stayed for a few more days, discussed the security company, and left for the U.S. again.
“Why did you stay in Korea for so long this time?”
“hahahahaha! John, how was it?”
“I almost forgot your face?”
From nob le mt l. co m
John, who I hadn’t seen in a long time, was yelling at me for being in Korea for so long.
I was a little embarrassed because he sounded so sincere, but I realized that he was probably a little nervous about me being gone for so long because of his broken past.
It looked like I was going to be stuck in America for a while.
“I’m sorry,” I said, “but like I said on the phone, I had a lot of unexpected things happen in Korea.”
“The head of Karma Investments is the boss. When he’s gone for too long, it reflects badly on his employees. Please don’t be gone for too long in the future.”
“Okay, okay.”
After spending a long time coddling John, I finally got the business report.
“Everything is going well. All of our stocks are up.”
“hahahahaha, I’ve been seeing that here in Korea.”
“AMD and Nvidia could use some work, though.”
“Hmm, because they’re due for a correction, right?”
“Yeah, right.”
Both AMD and Nvidia are strategic stocks that we should hold for the long term, but it would be foolish to hold on to them despite the possibility of a sharp decline in the medium term.
With the help of Naya’s beads, I had a hunch that both stocks were due for a correction at some point, but John’s prediction is pure skill.
I realize this the more I spend time with him every day, but he’s an amazing guy.
“What the hell is going on? Aren’t you taking a break?”
“It’s because of cryptocurrency.”
“Oh!”
“The bitcoin and other cryptocurrency mania is subsiding, which means GPU demand is going to go down, which means inventory is going to build up, which is bad for AMD.”
“I see.”
For a moment, it looked like the craziness of the coin market was going to calm down.
The prices were ridiculous in the first place.
From nob le mt l. co m
John and I were warned to stay away from coins.
What the heck was all the fuss about?
It’s obviously a bomb in my eyes and John’s eyes, right?
Anyway, coins are basically monsters that eat GPUs and power to mine, and if the price goes down, of course GPU demand will plummet and inventory will increase.
From nob le mt l. co m
John saw that coming before anyone else.
“Plus, Nvidia has some pretty bad new product rumors.”
“New products?”
“Yeah, they’re supposed to have a new GeForce series in the fall, and the rumors that are coming out are not good, and I think the market is going to be very disappointed when they make an official announcement in the fall.”
“Where the hell are you hearing these rumors?”
“Hmph, as an investment firm, we have to keep our ears open and gather information, so we can stay ahead of the curve.”
“Well, that’s great, then we should be ahead of the curve, right, even if not all of them?”
“Not all of them, of course. Especially AMD, where we have such a large stake that we can’t even get rid of it.”
“I see.”
“We’ll get rid of half of Nvidia and about a third of AMD before the fall.”
“So the stock price will go down even more because of us?”
“Hmph, we’re better off then, aren’t we?”
“…”
At times like this, John is the ultimate villain.
“How much do you think it will go down?”
“Well, Nvidia’s in the $60s right now, and I think it’s going to go down to $30. Of course, it’s going to go down even further when we start selling it.”
I think it’s going to go down to $20.
“What about AMD?”
“I think we’re going to see a 40% correction, maybe not as much as Nvidia, but we’re at $30 right now, so we’re in the low-teens.”
“Ha! That’s all great, but I dread the thought of being grinded by Lisa.”
Maybe Lisa will try to grind me down.
“Pfft, that’s for the boss to handle, right?”
Since when is Lisa my responsibility?
“Yeah, well, I’ll just have to beg.”
“And when the money comes in this time, I’ll pay back some of the loan. Even if I borrow again in the future, it’s safe to pay it off first when I’ve organized my main stocks like this.”
“Do that, but how much will you pay back?”
“I’ll pay back $4 billion and invest the rest elsewhere.”
“Let’s do that.”
“Oh, and did you get in touch with Jeffrey?”
“Jeffrey? I’m going to see him later. Why?”
“Hmph! He’s got a fun project for me, maybe it’ll go over well with the boss.”
“Huh? A fun project? What is it?”
“You’ll find out when you meet Jeffrey, then.”
What?
Make people curious?
I met Jeffrey in the evening.
“Alex, how have you been?”
“Uh, Jeffrey, I’ve been a little busy in Korea.”
“No matter how busy you are, your main business is in the US, so don’t be gone too long.”
“Even if I didn’t, I heard what you said to John.”
“I’m sure he did. John, he’s been rehabilitated by meeting you, and he’s got his family back together, but he’s still very anxious without you.”
“I’m sure he is, but I’ll be careful in future. Ah, Jeffrey, is there anything you want to tell me?”
“Did John tell you?”
“He just said that Jeffrey has some kind of fun project for me. What is it, a fun project?”
“Are you into movies, by any chance?”
“Movies? I mean, I like movies, but what movies?”
“Hmm, it’s an old movie, so I don’t know if you know it—.”
“Oh, what are you talking about, I’m such a movie buff?”
“Really? I’m surprised.”
“…”
What’s surprising?
Am I not supposed to like movies?
I hadn’t watched many movies for a while because my family had collapsed, but even before that, I had thought about making a career out of movies, and after I got out of the military, I watched movies on my own as a cheap hobby.
“It’s over 30 years old, but do you know that movie called Top Gun, with Tom Cruise and—?”
“Callie McGillis! Val Kilmer! Directed by Tony Scott!”
“Ohhh! I know that movie. It came out almost when you were born.”
“What are you doing? It’s one of my favorite movies.”
“Really?”
How can you not know Top Gun?
It’s a movie about an F-14 Tomcat fighter jet?
Plus, how awesome was Kenny Loggins’ “Danger Zone” during Tom Cruise’s orgy scene and “Take My Breath Away” during Tom’s brother’s bunga bunga with his mistress?
Top Gun is a movie I’ve watched at least a dozen times.
I was quite disappointed with the ending, but it was a movie from the 80s, so that was to be expected.
“But what about that Top Gun?”
“Don’t you want to invest in a movie?”
“What? A movie? What movie?”
“Top Gun 2!”
“Get in, Top Gun Two! Oh my God!”
Top Gun Two?
They’ve been making Top Gun Two?
After more than 30 years?
My heart was already pounding.
“Dude, what are you screaming about?”
“Ai, does it matter now, Top Gun Two? They’re making Top Gun Two?”
“What kind of movie buff are you, dude? They already started filming in May this year!”
“Turn it off!”
Oh, my God!
Top Gun Two was being made, and I didn’t know about it!
No way!
“But what, they’re already filming, what investment?”
“Don’t get excited, listen, you know Tencent from China, right?”
“Tencent? The game company?”
“Yeah, they’re not just in gaming, they’re also heavily invested in Hollywood, and they’ve been around for a while.”
“Oh, I heard about that. They’re investing heavily with Alibaba.”
“Well, Tencent was supposed to put 12.5% into the production of Top Gun Two, but apparently relations between the U.S. and China aren’t so great these days, so there’s less and less hope for the movie to be released in China.”
“Aah! So?”
“Are you killing it with your reactions today?”
“Aww, don’t cut me off, keep talking.”
“What the hell? Are you saying that Tom is looking for an investor to replace Tencent?”
“Oh! God! Buddha! Jesus!”
“Stop fussing, would you like to meet him?”
“Meet who? Who?”
“Who’s who? Tom, right?” “Tom Cruise?”
“Yeah.”
Oh my God!
I’m meeting friendly Uncle Tom?
This is unconditional, unconditional!
“It’s unconditional, unconditional!
“Pooh-pooh! Is this guy totally crazy?”
“Then what makes me not crazy?”
“Okay, okay, so you’re willing to invest in Top Gun Two?”
“Willing? I’ll pay for the entire movie!”
“Okay. Then I’ll create a position for you.”
“Woohoo!”
The next day, I got a call from Jeffrey’s brother, who told me that he’d set up an appointment for two days later and that I should know.
Thank God, thank God, thank God!
After spending the next two days driving around Top Gun again, I set off for the hotel where Tom Cruise was staying at the time of my appointment.
The secretary showed me to Tom, who was intently talking to someone on the phone.
After a while, he hung up the phone and I approached him.
“Mr. Kang?”
“Oooh, Mr. Cruise!”
“hahahahaha! Call me Tom.”
“Me, too, please call me Alex.”
He was definitely shorter than I’d heard, but his proportions were so good that I could still see his handsome face.
Tom talked for a while, trying to break the ice.
“Korean, huh? I used to go to Korea a lot.”
“hahahaha! I’ve been almost ten times. Ah! Feel free to talk.”
“Is that so? hahahaha! Anyway, I think Korea is a great country, so let’s get down to business.”
“Yes, go ahead.”
“We’re making Top Gun 2, and Chinese capital is coming in. Tencent.”
“Oh, I heard about that, Tom.”
“Well, I’m not really taking Chinese money, so I don’t think I’ll be able to come along, after all, with the way things are between us and China. So, in your karma—.”
“I do!”
“Huh? Do what?”
“The investment that Tencent is going to make, I will do it, unconditionally!”
I mean it.
I will invest unconditionally, unconditionally!
Even if the Buddha stops me.
“hahahahaha! Alex, did you enjoy watching Top Gun 1?”
“Really? I’ve seen it at least a dozen times. Big, F-14 Tomcat, no fighter jet is more beautiful than that!”
“Uh-huh! Alex, you know what you’re talking about, don’t you?”
“Uh-huh!”
Oh yeah, Big Brother Tom was a big dick, wasn’t he?
“Anyway, are you really going to invest?”
“Yes, I’m investing, even the full amount!”
“hahahahaha, that’s not possible, the maximum is 20% of Tencent’s shares plus some other investors, how about that?”
“I’ll do it!”
“hahahaha! Then let’s consider the total production cost as $170 million—.”
“What? Wait, $170 million? That’s all you’re talking about?”
I knew that most blockbusters cost well over $200 million.
But a movie with fighter jets and an aircraft carrier?
“hahahahaha! Alex, don’t you have a real sponsor?”
“What? What do you mean, a real sponsor?”
“The United States Navy.”
“Aha!”
That’s right!
If it’s Top Gun Two, the U.S. Navy is going to give it their full support, right?